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Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has resigned from the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), accusing the ruling party of betraying its promises and values.
In a five-page resignation letter dated May 12, 2025, Gachagua said he was leaving the party with immediate effect, calling it a threat to Kenya’s unity, economy, and democracy.
Gachagua, who served as the second Deputy President, said the UDA had failed to deliver on its promises made under the Kenya Kwanza manifesto.
He described the party as one that had wasted a great opportunity to uplift Kenyans through its “bottom-up economic agenda.”
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“It was a lie. No nation can be built on a litany of lies,” he wrote.
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The former Deputy President listed 15 key promises he said the UDA had broken. These included pledges on agriculture, housing, healthcare, education, social protection, women’s rights, and governance.
He claimed the party had turned its back on ordinary Kenyans and had instead embraced corruption, land grabbing, and oppression.
He criticised the Hustler Fund, calling it inadequate for real business growth, and said the much-promoted housing programme had become a tool for exploitation.
He also accused the party of abandoning Universal Health Coverage, failing in the education sector, and using police brutality against women and schoolgirls.
Gachagua ended his letter by saying his conscience could no longer allow him to stay in a party that “does not listen to its people.”
UDA quickly responded with a letter of its own, signed by the Secretary General Hassan Omar Hassan.
The party acknowledged the resignation but dismissed it as “inconsequential” and “belated.” The party said Gachagua had already been impeached in October 2024 and accused him of trying to rewrite the past.
The letter described Gachagua as a “toxic, archaic, polarising and viscous individual” who had failed to understand or implement “The Plan”—UDA’s economic transformation blueprint.
“You distinguished yourself as the worst of the tribal bigots to hold such high office in Kenya,” the party wrote.
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UDA accused Gachagua of clinging to outdated tribal politics and said his leadership style reminded them of colonial division tactics. The party said Kenyans had moved on and were building a better future without him.
The letter concluded that his resignation was a relief to the party and the nation, calling him “Kenya’s most divisive character.”
The dramatic exchange has triggered debate online, with both letters widely shared on social media. Gachagua’s supporters praised him for speaking out, while UDA loyalists supported the party’s hardline response.
The two letters paint a picture of a deep rift between the former Deputy President and the party he once helped lead. As the 2027 general election approaches, the fallout may reshape alliances within Kenyan politics.